Chances are you feel like you’ve already done it all. You packed your bags, moved to the big city in pursuit of the dream. Living a passionate life was never supposed to be easy, but it has been romanticized in books, films, and throughout society. Whatever the goal is, you keep stumbling upon a dead end while seeing nothing but success all over the Facebook feeds and Instagram posts. It was supposed to be an adventure with a happy ending, because how can nothing work out when all you do is work for it? You had a plan and now you’re thinking WHY? Why am I still here, why am I failing, why is nothing changing? Well, chill the fuck out, pour yourself a glass of wine, and relax. We’re here to tell you why it’s all good.

Nowadays, magazines tell us how to get that dream job, but no one tells us that a dream job is as unreachable as finding an affordable room in London. We either are successful or not – these are the metrics we are measured by. Society is ruled by the privileged ones, not the ambitious and hard-working. If you can’t afford a good education, you won’t stand a chance, because big companies want important university names, and those universities require large amounts of money to let you in. Fuck this, you say. Take matters into your own hands. There it goes: suddenly everyone can be anything. You just have to start a blog to be a writer. You can take a short course to land an entry-level job in IT and forget about the bigger picture. You hate the system, but desperately try to be a part of it, as nothing else is accepted. I’m talking to you.

Why am I still here, why am I failing, why is nothing changing?

You are late with rent because you work as little as possible to have time for your passion.

You have found 100 ways of fighting for your dream and were rejected 101 times.

You avoid talking to your parents because you don’t have any more excuses for this “irresponsible, childish lifestyle.”

You smoke more instead of quitting smoking and drink during your shift at the bar, knowing nothing else will get you through.

You consider going back home, but know that it would only bring you emptiness.

You feel like you’re failing.

You feel like time is running out.

It’s not. It’s time to realise you’re not failing. You’re winning at fighting in a world that wants you in line. Sure, get in line, be patient, work hard, never give up. But don’t you for a second think that you’re a failure. There is a whole silenced generation behind you, and it is time to raise our voices. Who am I to tell you this? Literally, no one. I failed all the way through. I came here almost 7 years ago and fought for my own dream every single day, failing constantly. Somewhere along the way passion was replaced with things that were considered to be “worthy” in our office society. I was sick of myself, the constant struggle, the inability to achieve anything, and I left.

I tried to live by society’s rules. I had a good job and felt empty. I was something, and felt empty. I published a book, and felt empty. I missed London. I always loved its unfairness: it demands you to either be strong or get the hell out. Isn’t this life at its fullest? That’s why I came back with a few things to tell you, and research that led me to create Why Magazine.

Embrace the failure and learn to love it

You’re told to eat healthy, work out, stop smoking, stop drinking too much. Wake up early, be positive, take a cute Instagram photo. How about: eat what you need to eat because maybe you’re at school all day and at work all night. Cry and scream if you need to because you feel alone in all this. Stop looking at posts from people living in a different dimension. Embrace the failure and learn to love it. Realise that there are so many people feeling the same way, dying to pour their hearts out.

Come in, but don’t expect us to tell you what to do. We don’t even know how to pay next month’s rent. But we can teach you how to embrace the failure, tap you on the head with an optimistic “there, there” and say: you’re doing well. Smoke. Scream. Dance on a Tuesday night if that’s the only night off you get. Sleep late. Cry and feel miserable if you’re losing your shit. Drink until you can’t think anymore. We might not beat the system, but we can show that we’re fighting it every day.